The present invention relates in general to the field of furniture constructed with synthetic woven material, and more particularly, to synthetic woven material manufactured from combination yarns including twisted yarns and non-twisted yarns.
Natural wicker has been used in the manufacture of furniture, baskets and other articles for many centuries. Natural wicker articles are manufactured from the twigs or branches of various plants that are first soaked in water in order to make them pliable, then woven to form into the article and finally allowed to dry. Furniture manufactured from wicker offers greater comfort than furniture manufactured from some other materials because of wicker's inherent compliancy. Further, wicker is light weight and reasonably strong, making it an important material in the manufacture of furniture.
The popularity of wicker furniture has increased significantly. The casual, informal appearance of wicker has made it especially popular for use in enclosed porches and other informal settings in homes, hotels and other establishments. Natural wicker, however, has had limited use in the outdoor furniture market, including patio furniture, pool furniture and the like. This is because natural wicker softens and weakens when wet, and is more susceptible to rotting and mildew than many other natural and man-made furniture materials.
Woven wicker typically comprises a weft yarn, i.e., a yarn running straight through the woven material, and a warp yarn, i.e., a yarn that is woven around the weft yarn. Numerous styles of weave are used in the manufacture of wicker furniture. The various styles of weave result in a different look, feel, strength and weight of the finished woven product. In a simple wave pattern, the weft yarns are spaced apart and arranged parallel to each other. The warp yarns are woven over and under alternating weft yarns. Adjacent warp yarns pass on opposite sides of a given weft yarn.
Polymer yarns have also been used to manufacture wicker-like furniture. By way of example, a polymer yarn is known which is constructed as an elongated body, such as of indeterminate length, having a core surrounded by a polyvinylchloride (PVC) outer coating, for example, foamed and non foamed PVC material. Foamed PVC material gives greater volume with less material. The outer coating may be formed of other synthetic materials such as polyamides, polyesters and the like. The yarn is typically made in a single step using a coextrusion process, as is known in the art. The inner core may include a single filament of polyester, or may include a plurality of polyester filaments bundled to form a single core. In addition, the core may be formed of other materials than polyester, monofilament or stranded, such as polyamides and the like. The core is designed to give the yarn greater mechanical strength over yarns formed only of polymer material.
The polymer yarn being constructed from foamed PVC material results in a lack of uniformity in the foaming of the PVC material during the extrusion process. This produces a yarn which lacks a uniform cylindrical appearance. Specifically, the outer surface of the yarn is deformed, such as by having undulations, mounds and/or depressed areas along the length of the yarn. The deformed shape of the outer surface of the yarn results in the yarn having a more natural look to that of real wicker. It is also known to provide the exterior surface of the polymer yarn with one or more random stripes of a contrasting color and/or one or more random grooves. The stripes and grooves can be continuous and/or intermittent along the exterior surface of the yarn. The yarn, however, can also have a more uniform cylindrical shape, as well as other shapes such as square, oval, triangular and the like. Polymer yarns as thus far described are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,704,690; 5,845,970; and 6,179,382, as well as U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 395,171; and 409,001, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. As in the case of natural wicker, polymer yarns have been woven into a woven material, which has been used in the manufacture of casual furniture suitable for the outdoor furniture market, including patio furniture, as well as for indoor use.
There is disclosed the application of twisted synthetic yarns for use in manufacturing synthetic woven material for furniture articles in Applicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 10/123,943, entitled “Method of Making Furniture with Synthetic Woven Material” which was filed on Apr. 17, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The application discloses various methods of heat setting twisted yarns and forming same into a woven material for use in forming, for example, seat and back portions of a furniture article. The twisted yarns are used as both the weft yarns and the warp yarns to form the woven portion, which is adhered to a frame of a furniture article. As the twisted yarns generally have a non-smooth exterior surface by virtue of their twisted nature, their direct contact with a person's skin may be considered by some to be uncomfortable. It has therefore been found desirable to provide an improvement in the manufacture of woven portions from synthetic twisted yarns, which provide improved comfort to the user of the furniture article.